Jamie Vardy believes the time is right for him to focus on his career at Leicester even though he ‘still has a lot to offer’ England, according to Gareth Southgate.
Photograph: VI-Images via Getty Images

Jamie Vardy has all but retired from playing for England after informing Gareth Southgate he believes the time is right to focus solely on club football.

The Leicester striker, who will be 32 in January, says a number of factors have influenced his decision, including his age and a desire to spend more time with his family. He also accepts he is unlikely to feature much for England even if he remains part of the squad.

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Vardy, who has 26 caps and has been in every England squad since his first call-up in May 2015, spoke to Southgate just before returning from the World Cup finals in Russia, to explain he was thinking of stepping aside. He confirmed that was still his intention during a telephone conversation with Southgate a fortnight ago, when the England manager wondered whether Vardy might have changed his mind before the internationals against Spain and Switzerland next month.

Southgate told Vardy he felt the striker “still had a lot to offer” but the manager also understood the thinking behind the player’s decision. With England not exactly blessed with striking options, Southgate and Vardy have agreed to “not shut the door completely”, although he would return only if there were an injury crisis.

“To be honest with you, this has been on my mind for a while,” Vardy said. “I’m not getting any younger and you can see, to be fair to the gaffer, he wants to make it more youthful, which obviously had its benefits during the World Cup. We got to the semi-finals and finished fourth, which is equal to the furthest we have ever been on foreign soil. So I just said to Gareth I think it’s probably best from now on, especially with the way he wants to go, to bring youngsters in who he thinks have got the ability and start nurturing them into international football.”

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Asked whether the prospect of travelling with England but not playing much had affected his decision, Vardy replied: “ I think that had an impact. When you get selected you want to be playing. If you’re playing week in, week out for your club, you want to be going to England to play as well. And if it’s not happening, then for me personally now, at this age, it’s better to be at home, spending that time with my family and training with my club, preparing for the next game after the international break.

“I explained it all to Gareth and he was fine with my decision. I mentioned it to him after the World Cup had finished, out in Russia, and then I spoke to him on the phone a couple of weeks ago.

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“He let it die down a bit, so I could have a bit more time to think, and then rang me up just to make sure I wasn’t just taking the mickey in Russia. But I hadn’t changed my mind. Gareth said he felt I still had a lot to offer and we’ve not shut the door completely. If the worst came to happen and everyone was injured, then I wouldn’t say no.”

Vardy speaks highly of Southgate, describing him as “brilliant” and praising him for helping to create the togetherness that made England “feel like a club environment”, although he admitted he was frustrated not to play more at the World Cup, especially in the semi-final against Croatia, when he only got on for the last eight minutes of extra time. “I thought I could have helped a bit more if I had more minutes,” Vardy said. “You know that you can hurt opponents in certain ways, in the way you play. But it wasn’t to be and you have to respect the manager’s decisions.”

Timeline

Jamie Vardy's England career

June 2015

England debut

Vardy makes his international debut at the age of 28, replacing Wayne Rooney for the last 15 minutes of the 0-0 draw with the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. Vardy then earns his first start, but fails to get on the scoresheet, in England's 6-0 win over San Marino in August.

March 2016

A memorable first goal

Vardy scores his first England goal in Berlin, backheeling the ball home less than four minutes after coming on to equalise against Germany. England go to win 3-2, and Vardy scores again three days later, against the Netherlands at Wembley.

June 2016

Highs and lows at Euros

Coming off the bench with England 1-0 down against Wales, Vardy gets the equaliser and Roy Hodgson's side go on to win 2-1. Hodgson is then forced to deny rumours of a rift between Vardy and Rooney, and England's tournament ends in a humiliating defeat to Iceland.

March 2018

Firing against the big guns

Vardy has to settle for a backup role to Harry Kane in the World Cup qualifiers and scores just once, against Lithuania. The Leicester striker continues to save his best performances for games against the bigger teams, scoring in friendlies against Spain and Italy.

July 2018

Bit-part player in Russia

Vardy is selected in Gareth Southgate's 23-man England squad and the team go all the way to the last four – but the 31-year-old has a limited role. Vardy's only start is as part of a changed XI against Belgium in the group stages. He fails to score in that or any other match, and plays only 40 minutes in the knockout stages.

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Gary Cahill also spoke with Southgate after the World Cup and indicated that, after eight years and 61 caps, he felt the time had come to concentrate on club football. The 32-year-old centre-half, who has played under five England managers and captained the team on five occasions, is aiming to break back into the Chelsea side under Maurizio Sarri.

“In terms of my international future, I think it is time I take a step back and now I feel that is the right moment,” Cahill told Chelsea TV. “I have been hugely honoured to have played for my country and I would never shut the door if I was needed in the future. I had a good chat with the manager and he could see where I was coming from.”